Invasion of West African cattle by the tick Amblyomma variegatum

Abstract

Studies in Cameroon and Burkina Faso examined the invasion process of cattle by adult Amblyomma variegatum Fabricius (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks. Nearly all the ticks picked up in the pasture during grazing were found on the limb ends, near the hooves, where they temporarily attached. Then when the cattle lay down, the ticks moved from the feet towards the predilection sites, where they attached definitively. Many ticks disappeared during this displacement. All the female ticks and approximately 70% of the males were thus unable to attach to the predilection sites as long as the pioneer males had not attached and started to produce attraction-aggregation-attachment pheromones. Nevertheless, A. variegatum females and males attached to the feet in similar numbers during grazing, whether the cattle were already infested or not, indicating that stimuli originating from the hosts are powerful enough to attract both sexes. After attachment of the pioneer males, the number of ticks that successfully reached the predilection sites increased. However, even on infested animals, 40-50% of A. variegatum ticks found near the hooves after the grazing periods disappeared during the night following their capture. When moving from the temporary attachment sites towards the final ones, one-third of the ticks changed the individual host. Considering this two-stage infestation process, it is suggested that a targeted tick control, using a foot-bath, might greatly reduce cattle infestation. In particular, it could be effective in traditional herds, with animals grazing permanently during the day, lying down only once back in the night pen.

Prevalence and Identification of Ixodide Ticks in Cattle in Lalo Assabi District, West Wollega Zone, West Oromia, Ethiopia

“…The result of this study is in line with the results of Stachurski (2000) who stated that short hypostome ticks like Rhipicephalus usually prefer upper body parts including nape of neck and margin of anus and under tail, while long hypostome ticks like Amblyomma attaches to lower parts of the animal body which is also the case in the current study.…”

Composition, prevalence and abundance of Ixodid cattle ticks at Ethio-Kenyan Border, Dillo district of Borana Zone, Southern Ethiopia

“…Accordingly, R. pulchellus and R. pravus had strong preference for ear, while Ambylomma, Hyalomma and the Boophilus subgenus were distributed on sternum, dewlap, scrotum, udder, ano-vulva and tail. This result was in line with the results of Stachurski (2000) and Tesgera et al (2017), who stated that short hypostome ticks like Rhipicephalus usually prefer soft tissues like ear while, long hypostome ticks like Amblyomma attaches to lower parts of the animal body which is also the case in the current study. Cattle in this study were heavily infested and mean burden of tick was high (mean = 40 ticks/head).…”

Pathogen Prevalence in Ticks Collected from the Vegetation and Livestock in Nigeria

“…icks are important disease vectors that can cause considerable economic losses by affecting animal health and productivity, especially in tropical and subtropical regions (28,32,37). In Africa, the tick fauna is remarkably diverse, with about 50 endemic tick species that are known to infest domestic animals (38).…”

“…However, the highest impact on livestock health is caused by species belonging to only three genera, namely, Amblyomma, Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus (28). Damage is either direct (skin lesions, impairment of animal growth) or indirect, resulting from transmission of a variety of pathogens (32). Major economical impact has been associated with the tick-borne diseases anaplasmosis, heartwater, babesiosis, and theileriosis, all of which are prevalent in Africa (4).…”